By By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
Tonight all eyes will be on Williamston, as the Tigers will host the ninth ranked Plymouth Vikings in an area showdown.
So far this season, Plymouth has crushed Atlantic Conference teams, as the Albemarle Conference Vikings are 2-0 against its rival conference.
Atlantic Conference fans are still waiting to see which team will step up and emerge as the leader of a mediocre pack. A win against the Vikings would go a long way for Tigers.
Plymouth (6-1, 3-0) at Williamston (3-4, 2-1)
For the second straight week Plymouth earned a convincing win over an Atlantic Conference opponent, as it topped Southside 39-0. The Vikings will look to extend the streak to three tonight when it travels to Williamston.
The Plymouth defense is really starting to click, as it is led by linebacker Deshawn Allen.
Up to this point, the Tigers still remain a mystery. Williamston has played strong against some tough opponents, only to have its effort back up by a poor outing. The Tigers are coming off a nice performance against Perquimans, in which they won 34-12.
The way the Tigers play against the Vikings tonight at home will say a lot about them; good or bad.
Northside (2-5, 0-3) at Manteo (2-4, 1-1)
After starting off the season 2-2, the Panthers have been reeling as they have lost their last three games in a row. Northside really needs to stop the bleeding, and a win on the road can do just that. Slow starts combined with turnovers have killed the Panthers in their losses. Last week they were out-scored 42-17 in the first half, and tallied five fumbles for the game.
Look for that trend to stop tonight, as Northside faces a mediocre Manteo team.
Roanoke (2-5, 0-3) at Camden (5-2, 3-0)
After falling 42-26 to Manteo on Monday, the Redskins will look to snap a three game losing streak tonight against Camden. So far, the Redskins have been out-scored by their opponents 208-136.
On the other side, Camden is riding a three game winning streak, and beat Northside 49-17 last Friday.
Perquimans (4-3, 2-1) at Southside (0-7, 0-3)
The good news for Southside is that its defense is starting to show progress, the bad news is that it’s on the field way to long.
In its 39-0 loss to Plymouth last week, the Seahawks have a few things they can hang their hats on: Two nice goal line stands against the area’s top team, and only letting up three defensive TDs is a good start.
However, the offense must get better. Too many times it goes three-and-out, and though there have been a lot of drops by its receivers, Southside has to go to the air more to, at the very least, keep defenses honest.
Perquimans comes into town after a tough 34-12 loss to Williamston, and will be primed to avenge that loss against another Atlantic Conference opponent.
Mattamuskeet (1-6, 1-4) at Cape Hatteras (1-4, 1-3)
Mattamuskeet fell hard last Friday as it lost 55-0 to Creswell. The Lakers will look to rebound against another a Tideland Conference rival in Cape Hatteras. Both these teams have struggled throughout the season, and a win tonight will go a long way for which ever program can pull out a victory.
Columbia (1-3, 1-4) at Jamesville (3-2, 3-1)
After stumbling a bit out of the gate, Jamesville has rebounded nicely and put together a 3-1 Tideland Conference record, which has it in second place behind Creswell (5-1). The reigning conference champion Bullets still have a good chance at catching up to the Tigers, but it needs to win tonight against Columbia.
The Wildcats have struggled this season, as they have gathered only one conference win. However, a victory tonight against perennial Tideland Conference powerhouse Jamesville could turn around Columbia’s season.